Tag Archives: Georgia

Submissions open for Second Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2019-04-01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (PDF)

Submissions open for Second Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

Hahira, Georgia, April 1, 2019 — No fooling but fun: today songwriters can start submitting new songs about the Suwannee, Withlacoochee, Alapaha, or Little Rivers, or other lakes, swamps, springs, or sinks in the Suwannee River Basin. New this year is a separate winner category for finalists younger than eighteen, in the Second Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest. Well-known radio personality Chris Beckham will be the Master of Ceremonies inside in air conditioning Saturday afternoon, August 24, 2019, at The Salty Snapper in Valdosta, Georgia. Three judges will select winners as finalists play. Snacks are included, plus a silent auction and kayak raffle. Come have some family musical fun supporting your local nonprofit WWALS Watershed Coalition and Suwannee Riverkeeper.


Photo: Bret Wagenhorst, of Emmett Carlisle playing at the 2018 Contest

Last year’s winner, Laura D’Alisera has driven from Jacksonville for every contest organizing committee meeting this year, and will sing this year while the judges are judging. She says, “To encourage working songwriters, this year we will Continue reading →

GA-PSC report on AGL pipeline and Homerville August 2017 2018 explosion 2019-03-29

Update 2019-04-04: Actually the gas did go through a sewer pipe; AGL didn’t locate or mark that pipe, either. And the GA-PSC report was on the front page yesterday of the newspaper of the largest city in the Suwannee River Basin.

Maybe the gas didn’t go up a sewer pipe to the coffee shop after all. And in its long-awaited report, Pipeline Safety at the Georgia Public Service Commission is not letting AGL hand the blame to its contractors. This recommended fine does not look like the previous slap on the wrist.

[Filed]

GA-PSC says AGL failed to locate and mark its pipeline in use and failed to locate “their abandoned natural gas facility at 107 Courtland Ave.,” which is the address of the Coffee Corner which blew up in August 2017 2018 and sent three women to the hospital with third-degree burns.

The report gets worse:

PROBABLE VIOLATION: AGLC failed to consider the use of a valve to stop the flow of gas, or to check the surrounding buildings and confined areas, during the response to this incident, as required by their procedures.

But those are just in the first two items, which only got a $15,000 recommended fine each. The same $15,000 level of fine is recommended for AGL’s failures to test its personnel for drug or alcohol after the incident.

The big item, with a $2,245,000 fine, is for AGL failing Continue reading →

WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting 2019-04-14

Update 2019-04-11: The meeting location has changed, to VSU Odum Library Rm # 2633.

Announcement
WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting
2:00-4PM, Sunday, 14 April 2019
Room 2633, Odum Library, Valdosta State University,
1500 N. Patterson St., Valdosta, GA 31698
Parking: Oak St. Deck, entrance off of N. Oak Street, across from Brookwood Drive.

Odum Library and Parking, VSU Map
Odum Library: green circle top center; Oak St. Deck: blue circle left center.

Dial-in Number (has changed): (712) 770-5505
Meeting ID: 855676
facebook event

Wastewater spills, water quality monitoring, water trails, paddle races, songwriting contest, Paddle Georgia, Alapaha Quest, festivals, projects and programs, pipelines, LNG export, phosphate mines, and more.

Invited to attend: WWALS members, especially committee members, and the general public.
All WWALS Board Members are expected to attend in person or by telephone.
The more done on the board list, the less time we have to spend in this meeting.

[Banner]
new WWALS Banner

Board Members: Continue reading →

Banks Lake Full Pink Moon Paddle, 2019-04-19

Update 2019-04-19: Rescheduled to Saturday due to weather.

A leisurely sunset paddle to watch the sun set and the full moon rise over the Banks Lake, a mini-Okefenokee near Lakeland, Georgia.

When: Gather 7:00 PM, launch 7:30 PM, Friday, April 19, 2019

Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County.

GPS: 31.034824, -83.096725

Take Out: Banks Lake Boat Ramp

Bring: the a light for your boat or some type of light to have on yourself (glow stick, head lamp, or flashlight), and bring a rope for your boat. You must wear a Personal Flotation Device (PFD). A whistle is not required, but it’s a good idea in the dark. Dress for cold weather, the temperature drops quickly after the sun sets. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.

Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook, meetup

Zoom, Moonrise
Photo: Shirley Kokidko, Banks Lake Spring Equinox Full Moon Paddle, 2019-03-20.

Continue reading →

Public Meetings, Revisions, GA Nonpoint Source Management Plan 2019-03-29

Update 2019-05-01: The WWALS comment letter.

As usual, the closest public meeting to the biggest city in the Suwannee River Basin is two hours away, this time in Dawson, Georgia. Received Monday via email. The documents attached are on the WWALS website.

When: Friday, March 29, 2019 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Where: 152 N. Main Street, Dawson, GA

Event: facebook, meetup

[Meeting locations]
Meeting locations
google map

EPD Watershed Protection Branch

Notice of Public Meetings for the Revisions to Georgia’s
Statewide Nonpoint Source Management Plan Continue reading →

Pictures: Azalea Festival, Valdosta, GA 2019-03-09-10

It was a fine time with 30,000 friends at Azalea Festival in Valdosta, Georgia.

See also Onemile Branch Cleanup, Drexel Park, during Azalea Festival 2019-03-10.

Saturday

Gretchen Quarterman and Julie Magruder, Booth

Gretchen Quarterman and Julie Magruder, Booth

Paddle Georgia, PR

Paddle Georgia, PR

Profile, Raffle Kayak

Continue reading →

E. coli at GA 133 Withlacoochee 2019-03-05

Valdosta’s monthly water quality testing data shows E. coli down at three out of their six remaining stations, and up at the other three, highest at US 41 on the Withlacoochee River, upstream of most of Valdosta and its Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant. This data is for Tuesday, March 5, 2019, and was obtained as usual by an open records request from WWALS.

Graph, Withlacoochee River Basin, Withlacoochee

Even that 265 cfu/100 ml E. coli is barely above the Georgia limit of 200, and far below the alert line of 1,000.

US 41, Withlacochee River, Withlacoochee

GA 133, Withlacochee River, Withlacoochee

At the next station downstream from US 41, at GA 133, the Withlacoochee River still showed Continue reading →

Video: BIG Little River Paddle Race, Paddle Georgia, Songwriting Contest, coal ash, trust funds, and wastewater, on Scott James Radio 2019-02-22

On WWALS TV radio Scott James and Valdosta Airport Executive Director James Galloway and I discussed alligators, karst limestone, and water levels on the Suwannee, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers. If I have to fly, I much prefer flying out of Valdosta to Atlanta, because if you forget about your pocketknife, security will just ask you if you want to take it to your car.

WWALS banner, Scott James

Before outings, we talked about coal ash and how Continue reading →

Help upgrade our Suwannee River Basins in Georgia

Update 2021-02-09: Redesignating waterways as Recreational –GA-EPD Triennial Review Meeting 2021-02-02.

See also Cost of reclassifying Georgia rivers from Fishing to Recreational in Triennial Review of Water Quality Standards.

We asked the state of Georgia to upgrade our main Suwannee River Basin rivers (and some lakes and swamps) from their current lowest water quality classification as Fishing to what they really are: Recreational Use. You can help!

[Georgia landings in Suwannee River Basin]

Every three years, federal law requires each state to review its water quality standards. 2019 is such a year for Georgia, so the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) is conducting a Triennial Review. The request WWALS sent to GA-EPD, background, and their response are all on the WWALS website. Our request was rather long, with 23 pages asking for reclassification of the Suwannee River, the Okefenokee Swamp, the Alapaha River, Lake Irma, Banks Lake, Grand Bay, the Withlacoochee River, the Little River, and Reed Bingham State Park Lake, all from Fishing to Recreational Use. The WWALS cover letter is included at the end of this blog post. For the rest, see the WWALS website.

The response thus far from GA-EPD has some good news: Continue reading →

The #Trashtag Challenge: Cleanups are good, but throwaway plastic needs to be stopped

It’s great the #Trashtag Challenge is getting people to clean up litter, but remember the straw and the sea turtle. Let’s also get on with fixing the problem, which is throwaway plastic and other discardable containers and wrappers.

[A new challenge.]
A new challenge.

It’s fun and useful to clean up a creek, like we did Sunday on Onemile Branch at Azalea Festival in Valdosta.

[Scotti downstream]
Scotti downstream

WWALS does this on every outing, which is also a cleanup, plus some specific cleanups, such as two at Troupville Boat Ramp on the Little River and one at Sheboggy on the Alapaha River last year. We find the amount of trash tends to go down, as more people catch on that we need to take care of our waters.

Yet more needs to be done. Remember last year at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, the sea turtle and the straw? Continue reading →